Nutrigenomics: Setting the parameters
While companies offering dietary advice to people on the basis of genetic data have attracted controversy (see 23andMe HERE), added Dr El-Sohemy, responsible firms focus very specifically on known nutrient-genotype interactions, and don’t focus on the association between genes and diseases.
In other words, attempting to calculate someone’s risk of developing certain lifestyle-related diseases based on a handful of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) is irresponsible at this stage given that we’re still learning about the complex interplay between genes and environmental factors (of which diet is just one), and we don’t really know the extent to which we can modify this risk though specific dietary interventions, he said.